30 Incredible Photos of Volcanic Eruptions

The recent photographs from the volcanic eruption in Chile stirred up memories from last year’s disruptive volcano in Iceland as well as the incredible undersea volcano in Tonga the year prior. When volcanoes erupt, it’s a startling reminder to the awesome and terrifying power of Nature.

From enormous plumes of ash to spewing lava and the menacing look of volcanic lightning, eruptions are a nature photographer’s dream. Here is a collection of the 30 most incredible photographs of volcanic eruptions both past and present. Enjoy!

3. Chaiten Volcano, Chile – May 2, 2008

4. Undersea Volcano off the coast of Tonga – March 18, 2009

5. Mount Rinjani, Indonesia 1994

WHAT ARE VOLCANOES?

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet’s surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface.

Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. A mid-oceanic ridge, for example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has examples of volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart; the Pacific Ring of Fire has examples of volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates coming together.

By contrast, volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic plates slide past one another. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the Earth’s crust in the interiors of plates. [Source: Wikipedia]

8. Mt. Bromo, Indonesia – December 11, 2010

9. Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Russia – October 11, 1994

10. Mount St. Helens, United States – May 18, 1980

THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE

The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes.

About 90% of the world’s earthquakes and 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. The next most seismic region (5–6% of earthquakes and 17% of the world’s largest earthquakes) is the Alpide belt, which extends from Java to Sumatra through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the third most prominent earthquake belt.

The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics and the movement and collisions of lithospheric plates. [Source: Wikipedia]

13. Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Russia – October 24, 1994

14. Mount Krakatoa, Indonesia – May 6, 2008

15. Mount Redoubt, Alaska – April 21, 1990

SUPERVOLCANOES

A supervolcano is a volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with ejecta greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles). This is thousands of times larger than most historic volcanic eruptions. Supervolcanoes can occur when magma in the Earth rises into the crust from a hotspot but is unable to break through the crust. Pressure builds in a large and growing magma pool until the crust is unable to contain the pressure. They can also form at convergent plate boundaries (for example, Toba) and continental hotspot locations (for example, Yellowstone).

The Discovery Channel highlighted six known supervolcanoes: The Yellowstone, Long Valley, and Valles Caldera in the United States; Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia; Taupo Volcano, North Island, New Zealand; and Aira Caldera, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan.

Although there are only a handful of Quaternary supervolcanoes, supervolcanic eruptions typically cover huge areas with lava and volcanic ash and cause a long-lasting change to weather (such as the triggering of a small ice age) sufficient to threaten the extinction of species. [Source: Wikipedia]